32 Memories
by fantasmic-lol-get-it
Summary: For the next 96 days, I will post a memory Finn had after he and Amanda had 'The Fight' regularly. This is going to be a countdown to Dark Passage. AUTHORS NOTE. Also, DPIN!
1. Ridiculous

**A/N: Hi! It's me! The weirdo who leaves fics unattended and still continues to create new ones! However, I ALREADY have most of this written out, so I won't leave you. (Except for a possible Internet-Connection-related hiatus next week you would know about if you had read the summary.)**

**Annyyyway, this is a fic about happy, fluffy moments Finn remembered after he fought with Amanda in the fifth book. Since there's 96 days left for Dark Passage, and 32 memories, I will update this every three days. Hope you enjoy! :3**

**DISCLAIMER: I am not Ridley Pearson, The Kingdom Keepers series does not belong to me.**

Finn Whitman stood in a corner of his school's gymnasium wearing uncomfortable fancy clothes and trying to not look as awkward as he felt. His best friend Dillard had left early, and his other best friend, Amanda Lockhart, hadn't even come, leaving him alone in a terrifying Middle School Dance.

His last Middle School Dance.

_Finally._

Just one hour or so more, and he could ditch this place altogether. 'Graduation Dance' was the last bad idea this school had presented to him.

Finn listened to the lyrics of the song playing, pretending to be very busy drinking water, thinking about how weird school dances are. Girls and guys mashed together pretending to have a ridiculous amount of fun. Maybe pretending was the real fun.

He felt someone tapping his shoulder, and he turned around, hoping it wasn't some Disney freak off to make him dance.

"So, what's up?" Amanda said, walking to his side and resting her arm on his shoulder, not even saying hi.

"Oh, you know, just counting down the minutes to leave this hell, hoping the _other _hell doesn't come that soon." Finn said, pretending to not be kinda-very-happy about her appearance and to not kinda-very-much notice how good the dress she had on looked on her.

Amanda snorted, taking her shoulder down. "Yeah, right. You and I both know you're oh-so-excited about being a _high schooler._"

Finn laughed sarcastically at her teasing.

"More teachers to hate me, Greg entering my same school, more guys to laugh at my skinny butt, even worse food, and more work? Yup, I'm excited."

"And yet, you'll meet girls and have _me_ to save you from Greg," She remarked, eyebrows raised, a smirk on her face.

Finn sighed.

"Ugh, that's true. I'll have to deal with _you, _too." He said, trying very hard not to smile.

Amanda opened her mouth, pretending to be insulted.

"Lawrence, that sent a knife to my heart!" She said, taking a hand to said-organ.

Finn laughed.

"Besides," Amanda said, making her face into a mix of innocence and delight, "You know you love me."

"You're ridiculous." Finn rolled his eyes.

"Well, do you love that about me, then?"

Finn looked at her, a slight smile on his face. "More than anything."

They both laughed, even though Finn's eyes had been a tad too honest when saying that.

"Come on, let's go dance." Amanda said, gesturing towards the dance floor.

Finn followed.

**A/N: So, as you can see, the memories will be short&sweet. See you in three days! (If I have Internet Connection!)**


	2. Roman Tickling

**A/N: Hi, me again. I have been confirmed to not have Internet connection starting tomorrow, so I will post one of the two memories that I was supposed to post during next week. The other out-of-schedule memory will be posted when I do have connection. Thank you for those who reviewed, I was surprised that people did like it haha. So! Here's one of my favorites:**

**Roman Tickling (Around Power Play and Shell Game)**

Finn and Amanda were trying to study for their history test in Finn's living room.

Finn was sitting on the couch, trying to read the first sentence of Chapter 6 from his text book for what seemed like the millionth time. Beneath the couch, Amanda was concentrated, comparing her notes to what the book said, a smile growing on her face.

"And.." She muttered, finishing the last sentence.

"I'm.." Amanda closed her book and jumped up.

"Finished! I did it! I finished!" She did a little happy dance, which ended in her jumping into the couch with him. "How about you?"

Finn gulped, trying to hide the big**_ CHAPTER 6: THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE_** title in his page.

"Uhh..."

Amanda snatched his text-book and, after glancing at the page, stared at him in disbelief. "Finn! You've barely made any progress! What _is_ so hard about the Roman Empire?"

"It's bo-o-ring!" He whined, throwing his head back.

"You're la-a-zy!" She whined back, hitting him with the book.

"Romans are dull." Finn said, making a puppy face at her.

"Romans are _not _dull. Did you know, for example, that tickling someone was considered a form of torture in their Empire?" Amanda said, all Philby-ish.

Finn considered this and smiled. He scooted closer to her.

"So.. if I were to do this," he started tickling her, "I'd be participating in Ancient Roman culture?"

Amanda yelped. "NO! Finn!"

Finn grinned, tickling her more, laughing at her red face.

"That-Hahaha- HURTS!"

Finn stopped tickling her. "Ah, so the Romans were right. Guess they did know a few stuff."

Amanda glared at him, wiggling her fingers in his face. "Your turn!"

"What ar-AAH!"

The tickle fight began. They both laughed and screamed, their faces red from the tickling. At one point, Finn was running around the room pretending to be a Roman soldier, trying to trap Amanda.

"I'm gonna get you!" Finn said, in a creepy soldier voice.

Amanda screamed, running from the 'Roman'.

Mrs. Whitman, hearing the sounds, had gone to the living room, and now stared at them from the kitchen's doorway. The pair of teenagers were acting like eight-year-olds, their textbooks scattered around the floor.

"What are you doing?" She asked, just when Finn trapped Amanda from behind.

The kids paled and jumped away from each other.

"Er, proving that tickling is a good form of torture." Finn said.

"The Romans tickled their enemies to cause pain." Amanda added, nodding.

Mrs. Whitman stared at them in disbelief and burst out laughing.

"Return to those textbooks." She said after a few seconds, smiling.

Amanda and Finn smiled back.


	3. Mondays

**Hello! This is the chapter that I was supposed to post earlier this week. I'm back on schedule now.**

**This memory is extra short because tomorrow I will be updating. **

**Thanks for those who reviewed! Really, really thank you. You're fantasmic.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own this. I am not a talented male with a beard.**

Finn stood in front of his locker, half asleep. His hair was messy, and he'd put on the first clothes he'd seen. He hadn't finished half of his homework, and he was in a foul mood.

Monday.

He started to hit his head with the locker's door repeatedly.

"Well, someone's having a fine morning!" A voice behind him exclaimed with a sarcastic tone.

"Mondays are the worst." Finn stated, turning to see Amanda, who was smiling brightly at him, almost as if to mock his scowl.

Amanda scrunched her nose and touched his forehead with her hand.

"You know, you're gonna get a headache if you keep hitting yourself. You're all red." She smiled and brought her hand back to herself. Finn thought that maybe her touching his face wasn't really helping his redness.

"I _already_ have a headache!"

"Oh, stop getting all _irritated_." Amanda said, rolling her eyes. "See it like this: it's another week, another chance to stop procrastinating, another possible vacation from fighting Disney Villains, and more chance to spend time with friends."

Finn looked down at her, his eyes squinted.

"Your sudden optimism is annoying." He noted.

The bell rang.

Amanda grinned, starting to walk away. "Smile! Spread the annoyance!"

She couldn't see him, but he did smile.


	4. Maryland

**Officially back on regular 96-days schedule.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own this, I am not Ridley Pearson.**

**(AFTER FOURTH BOOK)**

* * *

Finn was walking Amanda home one Wednesday, thinking about maybe holding her hand, when his best friend brought up The Unthinkable.

"Finn, when Jess and I are sent to Maryland, how are we going to warn you when Jess dreams bad stuff?" Amanda asked, her voice small. She was looking straight ahead, trying very hard to not look at him.

"Amanda, how many times do I have to tell you? It won't happen!" Finn said, not wanting to talk about this particular subject when the weather was nice and they could be doing much more pleasant stuff.

"Finn, we've got to be prepared. Look, I can log in to my mail once in a while and send you sketches, but I won't be able to send them to you the moment she dreams them. Can we cross over from Maryland? If you can, how will you know when to cross us over? We may try to escape again, but I doubt we'll succeed. After escaping once.."

Amanda kept on, and on, and on with her rambling, still not looking at him.

"Amanda.."

"Maybe there'll be a new Fairlie who can help us-" Amanda was going faster now, her voice raising.

"Amanda."

"-but I doubt so. Oh, maybe I can send some other fairlies.. no, too dangerous for them.." Finn wasn't even listening anymore.

"AMANDA!"

Finally, the girl turned around. Her eyes were wet and her face was flushed. "What, Finn?"

He walked towards her, putting his arms around her body. "Shut up, okay? Just shut up."

Amanda hugged him tightly, hiding her head in his neck. "I'm sor-"

"Shut up."

They stood there for a few seconds, in silence. Finally, Finn began to talk. "I'm going to ask you to remember two things I've told you before. First, I'm your human yo-yo. _Yours. _Even if you were to leave me for a while, I'd find a way to be with you. Second, I'm not losing you. I'm not running away from any problem. Remember that?"

He felt Amanda nod.

"Good. Now, if they try to come take you, I'll think of something. I don't know what, but I will. Do you trust me?" Finn's voice was quiet and gentle.

"I do." Amanda answered after a moment, the whisper warming his neck.

Finn was tempted to teasingly ask for a kiss, but the warmth of the embrace stopped him. They hadn't even talked about what had happened in Tom Sawyer's Island. He was getting mixed signals from her, and Finn didn't dare to ruin their friendship just yet.

"C'mon, it's getting late. Nash will kill me." Amanda said, letting go.

Finn nodded, grabbing her hand and walking towards her house.


	5. Evil Sister

**Disclaimer: I am not Ridley Pearson, I do not own this.**

**a/n: this isn't really fluff, but it's a scene I really want to happen. Well, not _this_ scene. But one with the same idea. **

**(Before fourth book)**

* * *

Finn stared in horror at the scene in front of him.

He'd come home from school to hear weird giggly voices and see a bunch of old photo albums scattered across the living room. At first he'd thought his mother had invited some friends to think about the past (what adults don't _always_ talk about the past?) but when he got to he realized the voices were coming from his room he got really worried.

He opened the door slowly, seeing the one thing he had _not _expected.

"Uh, um, hi, Finn!" Amanda said from his bed, his little sister, Sarah, next to her. They both looked like they were trying to control giggles.

"Uh, um, hi, what are you doing in my room?!"

Sarah looked at him and let a giggle out. "Just showing your girlfriend some of your old pictures."

He ignored the girlfriend comment.

"In my BED?!"

"She wouldn't believe me when I told her that you have a poster of Matt Damon."

Finn looked at Amanda with wide eyes, and found she was biting her lip, looking guilty. She slowly grabbed her backpack and raised from the bed. "I'm sorry. Your sister found me at school and asked me to come. I thought maybe it was a message from you, but obviously I'm wrong," Amanda started walking towards the door, where he stood. "So I'll just go. I'm sorry."

Finn blocked the entrance with his arm. "No, you're staying until Sarah explains _why in the name of Pete _she thought inviting you here without my knowledge would be a fun thing to do." He said, holding his sister's gaze, his voice not lacking the universal sibling-bicker tone.

Sarah didn't seem unnerved by the eye contact, and even gave him a smile filled with mock pity.

"You called One Direction dumb. I had to help Karma balance things out by showing your girlfriend your _glorious_ baby pictures. She _really_ liked your Peter Pan costume, and three year old you crying because you didn't want to take a bath."

His sister's explanation was said which such a calm tone, such nonchalance, that Finn thought she was joking. By the look in Amanda's face, she was not.

"It's no big deal," His best friend offered, a bit pink in the face. "You _were_ cute."

Finn looked at them both and shook his head, going out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Amanda asked.

"To ask my parents who's to blame for the evil gene in that child!"

* * *

**THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING! You're awesome. **

**Critic: I didn't know that, so really, really thank you for telling me. I'll change that later, saying they were in the family room or something haha. I actually would have written another place, but I remembered that in the third book, when they watched Dumbo, Ridley wrote that the gang was in Finn's basement. Thanks again! :3**

**Disneynerd7: Fun fact- When I first wrote 'Maryland', Finn _did _kiss her. I changed it because I thought that it didn't really seem like anything big had happened between them between the fourth and fifth book. Sadly. Heh.**


	6. Cats and Dogs

**A/N: Hi. I'm a day late. Sorry. My excuse: Fridays are busy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything mentioned down there.**

"Are you kidding me? Cats are _not _better than dogs!" Finn said to the girl rolling his eyes in front of him. They were in the Frozen Marble, sharing their favorite ice cream (mocha mini with graham crackers, M&M's, and chocolate syrup), bickering about dumb topics. Normal Friday afternoon.

"Of _course _they are," Amanda answered, shaking her head. "They're independent, smart, and not to be messed with. Dogs are hyperactive creatures who pee everywhere and bark too much."

"Firstly, you don't even have pets-"

"You don't, either." Amanda interrupted.

"Secondly," Finn continued, ignoring her. "Dogs are awesome. They can do tricks, they like spending time with you, and they bark when they want to warn you of danger. Cats don't warn you. Cats hate their owners."

Amanda sighed, impatiently. "They don't _hate _their owners. They just do what they want to do, unlike dogs, who do everything humans want them to do. 'A dog's a man's best friend' they say. Yeah, right. A dog is a man's slave cheerleader."

Finn shook his spoon in front of her face. "_Cats_ are like moody teenagers."

Amanda looked at him for a moment, making Finn feel nervous.

Then she started laughing.

Finn looked at her in confusion, and, after a few moments of Amanda laughing by herself, he joined her.

Amanda sighed, ending her laughing, a huge smile on her face.

"Cats _are _like moody teenagers." She accepted, taking a spoonful of ice cream.

"So you admit that dogs are better?" Finn asked, a teasing look in his eyes.

"Of course not. Now shut up and eat before I finish this alone."

Finn laughed some more.

Finn shook his head, smiling.


	7. Movies Pt1

**Hi! Thanks again to those who reviewed. **

**This will be a two part story, because I didn't want to make the oneshot too long. **

**Disclaimer: Ridley Pearson I am not, own this I do not.**

* * *

**PART ONE**

Finn and Amanda sat in a table in their school's cafeteria on the day before Winter Break, both tired and counting down the minutes for their much-deserved break. This particular lunch the topic of Maleficent was being discussed when Finn mentioned how she'd always scared him in the movie when he was little.

This led to a flushed Amanda admitting that she'd never really watched the movie.

"Wait, you've never watched _Sleeping Beauty_?" Finn asked her, his mouth a bit open. It was _Sleeping Beauty. __Everyone _had watched that movie. How was it possible for Amanda to have tortured the fairy before, and not once seen her own movie?

"We didn't watch a lot of movies in Maryland." Amanda explained, shrugging.

Finn stared at his lunch in silence for a few seconds, an idea forming in his mind.

"Well, that's it then," he said, grinning. "You're going to have to come over to my house after school."

"Why? Aren't we supposed to meet the Keepers at the Frozen Marble?" Amanda asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Well," Finn said, leaning towards her. "If you don't know the original Maleficent, it's going to be harder for you to beat her."

Amanda pretended to consider this.

"And, you know, as a Keeper, it _is _my duty to help other Keepers be informed. I'm helping the team, they'll understand why we won't show up. You'll have to come to my house and watch the movie." Finn added.

"Well, I guess I'll _have _to go, then." Amanda answered, playing along. "You just _can't_ have Fairlie not knowing what's up with her enemies."

"We're doing the whole team a favor," Finn said. "In fact, I'll just text Philby to not wait for us right now."

Amanda grinned.


	8. Movies Pt 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything, I am not Ridley Pearson. I just wish we could see Finn and Amanda being fluffy best-friends-in-love more.**

Finn watched the movie in front of him, the only source of light in the room, not really thinking much about the movie, but of the person sitting right next to him in the big couch. He kept glancing at Amanda to see her reactions, and he knew she was pretending not to notice as she laughed and gasped.

Around half-way through the movie, he started to feel awkward. Was he supposed to make some kind of move? Finn tried to recall what guys in movies did when they were in his situation, and eventually gathered enough courage to fake a yawn and put his arm around Amanda's shoulders.

As soon as his arm was resting on her, Amanda began to giggle.

Finn blushed. "Is that a good giggle or a bad giggle?"

"That's-the-cheesiest-move-in-the-book giggle." Amanda said, trying not to look too pleased about said cheesy move.

Before Finn could even defend himself, not that he knew what how he was supposed to do _that_, Amanda put her head on Finn's shoulder and snuggled closer to him. "Now shut up, I'm trying to watch this." Amanda said, taking a handful of popcorn from the bowl on his lap.

Finn grinned, letting his best friend watch the princess on the screen.

They stayed like that, neither talking, until the movie was about to end. Finn prayed the movie could last a little longer, prayed that their standing up and moving from the cozy, warm couch could delay. It was almost like when he heard his alarm clock and knew he had to wake up to go to school.

Soon the movie ended, all happy and perfect, like they both knew it would.

"So. That was good." Amanda said, not moving, looking straight into the dark screen. The room was much darker now that the movie wasn't playing.

"Yep." Finn answered.

"And I have to get to Mrs. Nash's now."

"Mhmm."

"If I don't get there soon, she'll freak."

"True."

"So I have to get up from this couch."

"You do."

There was a pause.

Then Amanda sighed. "I don't want to get up."

"Don't get up."

"What, and we stay here all our lives? Here in this couch, living off popcorn?" Amanda asked. "We can't. The popcorn will end, eventually."

"We might make it through the break." Finn said, looking at her.

She returned his stare, and, after a few seconds, got up and gathered her things.

"Bye, Finn. Thanks for having me." Amanda said from the doorway.

"Traitor. You left me after five seconds." Finn said, pretending to be disappointed.

"You know," Amanda said with a grin, "I haven't ever seen Lion King."

Finn grinned back.

* * *

**A/N: Okaay. So there's Part Two! Hope you had some FFOs :D**

**(and, yes, I only added the last part because I had "Baby It's Cold Outside" stuck in my head, so sorry if it shucks lol)**

**Thank you for taking the time to read and thank you, thank you, THANK YOUU for those who take time to review! **

**Guest: Oh! Thank you for pointing out that there ARE basements in Florida. I'll change the second chapter back to basements when I'm not feeling lazy haha.**


	9. Others

**A/N: This one's a little different (and, OKAY, really not my best), but I still think Finn would've remembered these tiny moments.**

**Disclaimer: I am not Ridley Pearson and I DO NOT own these characters.**

* * *

"So, what's going on with you and Amanda?" Maybeck said, wiggling his eyebrows. They were seated near Tomorrowland, waiting for the others to cross over, and Maybeck thought it'd be nice to annoy Finn.

"Why would anything be going on with Amanda and I?" Finn asked, trying not to let the question have any kind of effect in his expression.

"Apart from the staring and googly eyes?"

Finn made a face.

Maybeck opened his mouth as if to say something else, but was interrupted by Charlene appearing near them. He winked at Finn and went to greet her.

* * *

"Finn, I need you to help me." Dillard looked serious as he sat before Finn.

"Okay, whatever you need." Finn said, looking a bit worried.

Dillard took a deep breath and then made eye contact with him.

"I need a girlfriend."

Finn's mouth opened a little. "You're kidding, right?" He shook his head. "You did not call me, told me to stop watching TV and come to your house, and worried me just to tell me that you _need a girlfriend._"

"But I need one! And you're the only friend I have who's actually got one! I need to know how to get one!" Dillard pleaded.

"Dill, she's not my girlfriend." He said, not believing that he was actually having this conversation.

"Of course she is! She's in love with you!"

"She's my best girl- she's my best _female _friend. Best female friends don't fall in love with their best guy friends." Finn sighed, rolling his eyes.

Dillard rolled _his _eyes. "Well, Amanda has. And if you're not going to help me, we might as well do something else."

* * *

"Finn, can I come in?" His mother asked, knocking at the door.

Finn looked towards the door from his computer. "Yeah."

Mrs. Whitman smiled at him, seating on his bed. "Finn, I've been thinking,"

_Great_, Finn thought. This was going to take a while.

"You've never really told us if Amanda's your, well, girlfriend."

Finn stared back at her, his cheeks red.

_"What?" _

"Finn, it's been three years since you first brought her home, and I know for a fact you've been walking her home from school, but you've never really told us _what _she is."

"You're not doing this. Please tell me you're not doing this." Finn muttered, shaking his head. Seriously?! Now _his mom _was pressuring him, too?

"You've got to understand. Whenever my sisters ask me about you, I never know if you _do _have a girlfriend. And your dad is also hoping you bring a girlfriend home, too. It's one of the best things about being your age, Finn."

"Mom! She's my best friend!"

She smiled, as if this was the cutest thing he could have ever said.

"Don't give me that look! Just.. let's not talk about this now, okay? I've got homework." Finn said, turning towards the computer.

"Okay, Finn. But remember: girls don't wait forever."

* * *

Finn sat with Philby at the Frozen Marble, watching the redhead stare at Willa getting their ice creams with a smile. There was something so silly about the fact that Philby and Willa liked each other but didn't know it themselves. Finn looked at Philby, chuckling.

"This is adorable." He said, while Philby turned to look at him.

"What is?" His friend asked, confused.

"This," he motioned to Willa, and then him.

"Oh, shut up. You're one to talk."

The smile disappeared from Finn's face, making Philby laugh. "_See_, that's what I'm saying. Admit it, Whitman. You're worse than me."

"I am _not!" _

Philby was about to make another comment, but Willa sat beside him, placing the ice creams on the table.

"What are we talking about?" Willa asked.

"Finn and Amanda." Philby answered, ignoring the glare Finn was giving him.

"Oh! Are you finally together?" She asked Finn, smiling.

Philby burst out laughing.

"Shut. Up."

* * *

**Thanks for reading, and thanks for reviewing :3**


	10. Sick

**A/N: Thank you so much for reviewing! You make my day.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own this, as I am not Ridley Pearson/Disney Hyperion**

* * *

Finn found himself in front of Mrs. Nash's, carrying some chicken soup and worksheets. Amanda had gotten the flu, and he was almost certain that Mrs. Nash wasn't a great cook.

He rang the doorbell, a bit scared of having to talk with the tutor of two of his best friends. To his relief, Jess opened the door.

"Ooh, Finn! Come on in," The girl said. "Nash's out to get some medicine."

Finn raised an eyebrow. "Nash's getting medicine for Amanda?"

Jess snorted. "She's getting some medicine for _herself,_ which I guess she'll share with Amanda. Flu's everywhere."

She motioned for him to get in, so he did. He looked around, remembering that the last time he'd been in there, he'd screwed up and put Amanda on a spell.

As Finn walked towards their room, he saw a few curious girls poking their heads. He knew there was no way they'd rat on him (the Fairlies scared them), but he still felt a bit jumpy.

Finally, they got to the room, and Finn stopped on his tracks. Amanda looked _terrible. _Her nose was red, her face was pale, her eyes were bloodshot. Her hair was tangled and there were Kleenex everywhere.

"Finn? What are you doing here?" Amanda's voice was small and raspy, like talking required maximum strength.

Finn ran towards her bunk, full of concern.

"Don't get too close!" Jess warned, fearing that the flu would take Finn as a victim.

However, Finn didn't care. He wanted to be right there helping her.

"I got you chicken noodle soup." Finn smiled, raising the container.

Amanda's eyes widened. "Gimme."

Finn and Jess chuckled, doing as she said.

"Mmhm.." Amanda's face broke into delight as she tasted the soup, barely paying attention to Finn's warns to not eat too quickly.

"Hey, don't get too excited," Finn said. "I also brought you homework."

He noticed that rolling her eyes didn't seem to cause her trouble.

"Wait," Finn said, noticing a poster of a thirteen year old DHI boy. "Is that Jeannie's poster of me?"

Amanda's face went a bit pink.

"_Jeannie's." _She mumbled.

Finn grinned. "So you get to stare at me 24/7?"

She glared at him.

Finn laughed but didn't talk again, letting her finish the soup. As soon as she did, Jess cleared her throat.

"Finn, I'm sorry, but I think it'd be good if you let Amanda sleep. Besides, Nash will be here any minute now."

Finn nodded and waved goodbye at Amanda, but before he went out of the room, Amanda called his name.

"Just.. thank you. You're the best guy out there."

_You're the best guy out there._

Finn knew he was going to be replaying that in his head all week.


	11. Saving

**A/N: Hello! Thanks for reading and reviewing- you're all lovely :3**

**Special thanks to reviwer #32, her-eyes-fiery-pinpricks. You've really helped me to not leave this story to die, like all my others. Thank you, you're the best :)**

**Disclaimer: Hello. My name is not Ridley Pearson. I claim to own nothing.**

* * *

"If your house was on fire, what would you save?" Amanda asks, sitting beside him on the park bench.

Finn thinks about this for a minute, feeling the sun heat the back of his head.

"Can I save people?" He asks, watching her play with her hair.

"No," She shakes her head. "They can walk on their own."

"Well, can I at least tell them there's a fire?"

"Finn!"

"What?" He pretends to be clueless, just to get a reaction.

She sighs impatiently, rolling her eyes.

Finn tries not to smile. He loves when she does that.

"I'd save my laptop, some money, and my bike, I guess." He finally answers, shrugging.

"You wouldn't save your Matt Damon poster?" Amanda asks, all wide eyes and fake innocence.

He makes a face, making her laugh.

"What would _you _save?" Finn asks.

"Well, since Jess can save her diary, probably nothing." Amanda responds.

"You wouldn't save Jeannie's poster of me?" Finn tries to sound hurt.

"I'd let it _burn." _She says dramatically.

Finn gasps.

Amanda nods. "Oh, yeah. Finally, Jeannie would have nothing to stare at."

"I could give her a new one." Finn says, even though the fact that people have posters of him creeps him out.

"I would _never _forgive you. Ever, ever."

He laughs and they just stare at each other for a moment, smiling. He feels a warmth that has nothing to do with the sun.

She takes his hand and looks away.

Neither talks, but it's not awkward. It's the kind of silence that you share with those people you know everything about, people who are just happy with your company.

They stay like that for a very long time.

* * *

**Yeah, wasn't very happy with the way this one turned out. But oh well.**


	12. Promises

**A/N: A bit late. Sorry!**

**Thanks for the feedback, people! :)**

**Disclaimer: I am not Ridley Pearson. I do not own this.**

* * *

"Amanda, what are you going to do when you turn 18?" Finn asked his best friend, walking her home from school.

The question had been nagging him lately. He knew that Amanda was going to leave Nash's when she reached the legal age, but he didn't know if she was planning on leaving hi- Florida.

"I'm going to become the President of the United States!" Amanda said brightly, bumping a fist into the air.

"I'm serious. What are you planning to do when you leave Nash's?"

Amanda didn't answer for a moment, but then she looked at him. "I don't know.. I've been thinking about trying to take the Fairlies off from Maryland. Try to start a new place for them, try to stay away from the government."

"So you'd leave Orlando? What if the Keepers need you?" Finn tried not to feel upset.

"Well, I wouldn't just _leave _instantly. I'd have to make plans, first. Work a bit, get money. But I _have _to change things, if no one else will. You, you of all people, _have_ to understand." Amanda looked directly into his eyes as she said this.

Finn nodded, breaking the eye contact.

"I'd come visit you, though." Amanda added, after a minute of uncomfortable silence.

Finn didn't answer.

"Hey, maybe we can hide the Fairlies in the Magic Kingdom." Amanda tried to joke.

Finn didn't laugh.

"Oh, come _on, _Finn!"

"Wouldn't it be dangerous? Taking the Fairlies away from the government?" He asked, ignoring her previous comments.

"Well," Amanda started, trying to choose her words carefully. "I would be saving people. Letting the innocent have freedom. Isn't that more important than being safe?"

"I guess," Finn muttered.

They walked slowly, trying not to get to the Foster Home.

"It's not like it's going to be more dangerous than fighting magical Disney Villains." Amanda said. "And you're going to leave for college, so it's not like I would be with you if I stayed."

_College._ Finn hadn't thought about that.

Panic started to fill him. That was going to happen in a few years. What if he never actually told Amanda about his feelings? What if, one day, they just chose different paths and never met again?

He stopped, grabbed her by the shoulders, and brought his face close to hers.

"Promise me, whatever happens, we'll meet in Magic Kingdom in ten years. We'll meet _exactly_ ten years from now, sitting at Roy Disney's bench."

Amanda's eyes were huge, her cheeks were pink. "Finn, I don't-"

"Promise me."

Amanda looked at him and nodded.

"I promise."

He took her hand and continued walking towards her temporal home.

* * *

**Thanks for reading** :3


	13. Birthday

**A/N: THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING/FAVORITING/READING. YOU MAKE MY DAY. (caps because YOU REALLY DO)**

**Dislcaimer: I do not own KK or anything related to them. Also, singing cards=not mine.**

* * *

Finn scanned the room, trying to find Amanda. The Keepers had planned a surprise birthday party for her at Maybeck's place, and even though Amanda had looked pretty happy for most of the evening, he couldn't find her now.

"Have you seen Amanda?" He asked Willa, interrupting her conversation with Philby.

"Oh, yeah," Willa said. "I think she went for some air."

_Some air?_

Finn got out of the door and, sure enough, Amanda was outside. She was sitting on the ground with her head up, watching the stars.

He walked towards her and copied her position. He waited for her to say something, but she didn't.

"You're upset." He stated, not even bothering to ask.

"I'm not. I'm very happy you guys did all of this for me. The party's fun and the cake's good." Amanda said, her eyes still studying the dark sky. "I just wanted some air."

"Okay, first of all, your neck is going to hurt if you keep it on that position." Finn said, taking her chin and bringing it down. Amanda blinked.

"Second of all, nobody who has ever used the phrase 'I want some air' has ever wanted some air." Finn continued, making eye contact to make sure she did not look at the sky. "So something's upsetting you enough to get out of a party dedicated to you by your very best friends. And I'm not leaving until I find out what the problem is."

"Finn.." Amanda sighed. "It's nothing."

"Amanda.." Finn sighed. "It's something."

Amanda smiled. "I hate you."

"Naah, you don't." Finn shrugged. "Now tell me."

Amanda looked at him and shook her head. "I don't even know how you do it, but you always make me tell you stuff." She paused to give him a small smile. "It's just.. it feels weird. Not having anyone, then having Jess, and suddenly having five new best friends. And the possibility of moving and leaving you, all of you, it just makes me.. sad. Knowing I'm happy now makes me sadder, since I won't be happy when you're not with me. Then the sadness makes me want to just isolate myself altogether, so that I don't feel even worse when I go to Maryland, or, you know, push you all away." She grabbed his hand. "And birthdays themselves are just stupid. I mean, I feel no different from yesterday, or two months ago. What does age even mean? Why is the fact that you were born so important? I mean, everyone who is alive has been born. What's so special about that?"

"The fact that you were born is important to me." Finn said. "And the reason you shouldn't keep yourself from feeling happy so that you don't feel sadder later, is so that you don't feel sad now. Stop thinking about the future, Amanda. Think about now. This moment. You, me, the stars. You can't push the present away."

"But why is it so.. so _hard _to not think about the future?" Amanda complained.

Finn thought about it for a minute, and came up with no conclusion. "I don't know. I just know it's worth to try."

She nodded, and they sat there looking at each other, until Finn reached into his pocket and brought up a little bag and a card.

"Gift time." Finn said, making Amanda protest.

"Finn, no, the party's enough."

"Oops, already bought these, you'll have to accept them now."

"Ugh." Amanda muttered, trying not to smile.

"Okay, first, there's this card." Finn said, giving a cat-covered card to Amanda. She raised an eyebrow, but opened it.

A chorus of cats started meowing Happy Birthday.

Amanda started giggling, her smile making her seem even prettier to Finn. He laughed alongside her.

Once the laughing died down, and Amanda rolled her eyes at him for picking such a silly gift, he brought up the little bag.

"Take the gift out." Finn instructed her.

Amanda gasped as she brought out a pair of earrings. They weren't too fancy or too casual, just pretty silver earrings that had reminded Finn of her when he passed through a store's window a few weeks earlier.

Amanda hugged him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Finn."

"Happy birthday, Amanda."

She got up and tugged at him. "C'mon, let's get inside."

Her smile and the suggestion itself told him Amanda wasn't thinking about pushing them away.

"Yeah, let's go." Finn got up, linking arms with her and walking towards the door.

* * *

**longest memory yet. woaah.**


	14. Speeches

**A/N: Late again. I blame school. And The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Kingdom Keepers. **

* * *

Amanda was scanning a pile of papers and mumbling to herself frantically when Finn got to the cafeteria.

Uh-oh, Finn thought. He knew just what was happening. In fact, he'd been just like that a couple of days earlier, and he could see a couple more kids like Amanda in some nearby tables. One was even crying.

"Mrs. Batchel?" Finn asked, referring to the English teacher behind all the drama.

Amanda shushed him.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Mrs. Batchel had realized a few weeks earlier that none of the kids knew much about giving speeches, and had given them a 60%-of-your-grade assignment in hopes that they would learn. They had to type and present a five minutes minimum persuasive speech about whichever topic they wanted, which didn't sound too bad, except that she counted _everything _you did or didn't do. How you walked, your expression, what you were looking at, your hands, even what you were wearing. All while being aware that anyone in the audience might laugh, that you might mess up, and that you have to know the speech by heart.

It seemed terrifying, but it wasn't that bad once you went through it.

Amanda suddenly groaned in frustration and hid her face with her hands.

"I can't do this. I don't know even know half of my speech, I get to three minutes max, and I'm going to mess up. I hate this. I hate speeches. I hate everything."

"Drama queen." Finn said, shaking his head. He was teasing, of course. He'd been like that just two days ago. "What's your speech about?"

"Trying to convince people to be better feminists and stand up to sexist media." Amanda mumbled through her hands.

"Okay, that's easy. You like talking about that, right? You don't have to say your speech just like you typed it, anyway. Who'll know you made a mistake when you're the only one who read it?"

"Me."

"Okay," Finn took her hands away from her face. "Stop that. Remember two things: dramatic pauses are your best friends and just think about the main idea from each paragraph. Everything else will just flow."

"Are you sure?" Amanda asked, unsure.

"I swear I am. Now stop feeling sorry for something that will not happen. You'll be great. You can be _very_ persuasive, take it from me."

Amanda smiled. "Oh, I know, Whitman."

"Want me to hear you practice the speech?" Finn asked.

"Just let me re-read the middle, okay?"

* * *

**Short and stuff, but I've been in that situation and, gosh, I would've done terrible if people hadn't helped me. **

**Anyway, thanks for reading! DARK PASSAGE IS NEAR.**


	15. The Friendship Thing

**A/N: THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING! YOU ARE KIND, NICE PEOPLE. OKAY? OKAY.**

**This one's just before Shell Game.**

**Disclaimer: I am not Ridley Pearson, nor am I part of Disney Hyperion. In short: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Finn waited for Amanda at the school's steps after school. Normally, she was one of the first students to leave, but, as of that moment, she was seven minutes later than usual. He wasn't worried, but a bit curious about why she was late.

Suddenly, she came out the door with a group of semi-popular, not-so-nice girls. Amanda shot him a "What the hell?" look, which Finn returned. As they got neared him, some of the other girls smiled and waved at him. Amanda rolled her eyes.

"Okay," Finn started, slowly nodding. "I see you've made some friends."

"Sorry I'm late. Your fangirls tortured me."

"Oh." Finn didn't know what to say. He knew a lot of girls were interested in him because of the DHI stuff, but most girls at his school lost it when they saw he was kind of average.

They started walking, and after a few moments of silence, Finn asked her what kind of torture it had been.

"The 'don't-touch-my-man' kind," Amanda groaned. "Do you have any idea how many times I've been asked if I'm your girlfriend since we've entered Winter Park?"

Finn started feeling awkward. He tried to hide it with some teasing. "And what did you answer?"

"Oh, that we're actually married and expecting a baby girl named Alice." Amanda face brightened with sarcasm. "I told them that you're just my best friend."

"And that conversation lasted for seven minutes?" Finn was feeling kind of hurt, in a way. Just his best friend.

"Yup, they threatened me and all that stuff. They were also unconvinced about our lack of relationship, so I had to explain to them about the friendship thing again, and again, and again."

"Friendship thing." Finn repeated.

They hadn't exactly specified where they were after the kissing had happened. Tom Sawyer's Island seemed more like a dream than a reality each day. Finn wanted to talk about it, or better yet, skip the talking and move on to the relationship and kissing thing.

They got to Mrs. Nash's in silence, and as Finn said goodbye to Amanda, he saw sadness flick through her eyes. She was pushing him.

He considered doing something, telling her that he was aware, hugging her, kissing her, but she turned around and got inside.

Finn knew he had to do something before the "friendship thing" and the pushing got in between the possibilities. _  
_


	16. The Day Before Valentine's

**A/N: Hey! We're halfway there! And I missed a memory! (But this is the longest memory yet so, forgive me?)**

**I'm sorry. Half of it was the usual lazy/school/Lizzie Bennet Diaries reasons, and the other half was that my laptop is going crazy. And with crazy I mean it's reloading pages on itself, pausing youtube videos, and deleting paragraphs when I'm writing. My trackpad has lost its mind. If anyone has had this happen to them before, please give me advice. Thank you :)**

**Anyway, since I missed a memory, I'll be posting today and tomorrow. And since tomorrow's Valentines... **

**VALENTINE TWO-PARTER! (okay this is just exciting to me, shh, I love two-parters)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. If I did, they'd be together by now. I also don't own Rapture, CVS, or anything else. Yay me.**

**Thanks for reading/reviewing :3**

* * *

A DAY BEFORE...

You could feel the anxiousness, excitement, and sadness in Winter Park's hallways. Some girls were giddy and giggly, while some were moodier than usual. Some boys were anxious and nervous, while others became more obnoxious by the minute. The pink and red colors were making Finn nauseous, and the "roses are red" parodies were said so many times they weren't even funny anymore.

Valentine's Day was near. In Finn Whitman's case, _too _near.

He'd been waiting for Mrs. Batchel to enter his third-period English class when he'd overhead a group of girls talking about the holiday.

"Oh," Finn heard one sigh. "You guys don't know what I would give for a guy to declare his love for me on Valentine's."

"I know! I'd take _any _guy just to not be alone on Valentine's Day." The one next to her said.

"Just the fact that someone would actually prepare something for me would make me fall in love with them." Another one added.

The other girls nodded in agreement, and Finn had been left feeling both hopeful and nervous.

Was that true? Did _all _girls think like that? Could he just show up with a random teddy bear on February 14 and Amanda would instantly love him?

Finn shook his head. No way. A simple date on a calendar couldn't change people's mind like that.

But what if Amanda _expected _Finn to declare his love for her tomorrow? He had nothing planned! He hadn't even _thought _about getting her something!

Several scenarios passed through his mind.

He imagined himself getting to the Frozen Marble, with a perfect gift and a short, cheesy speech, like the ones people in TV always give during Valentine's Day. Would Amanda reject him? Would she like the thought, but not like him? Confess she's actually been in love with him ever since he told her she's cool? Laugh at him?

All during lunch, he kept looking for signs that Amanda liked him, too.

Hand touching? Liked.

Calling him "my friend"? Liked. As a friend.

Flirting with him? Liked.

But what if it wasn't flirting? Liked as a friend.

Finn considered asking Philby for help, but then he remembered the Willa-Philby situation. There was no way he'd ask Maybeck, and Dillard didn't have much experience. By the end of the school day, Finn had Yahoo'd his problem four times. The wise words of AwzomesGurl49 were his only salvation.

He had to give her something that could be taken both as "we're best friends" (Hey, officially, it _is _also Friendship Day) and "I'm actually in love with you", although when he googled "What to give to a best friend you're in love with for Valentine's" the only thing that came up were Friendship Poems. Which weren't even that good, by the way.

Thanks, Google. All the times the search engine had helped him, and NOW it gave him up, the one time he couldn't search the answer in a text-book.

Finn had been on his room later that day, trying to think about what the hell he was supposed to find under twenty-four hours, when Mrs. Whitman entered his room.

"So, Finn," His mom tried to act casual, but her smile couldn't be hidden. "Tomorrow's Valentine's Day."

"Is it?"

"What are your plans? You've been walking Amanda home for so long now, maybe tomorrow might be your big chance!"

She sounded so genuinely excited, all giggly and blushing, like she was a gossiping school girl. Finn couldn't help but tell her his problem.

"Go traditional!" Mrs. Whitman told her son, like it was obvious. "Write her a card and we'll get chocolate and a small teddy bear at the CVS."

"Mom, I don't want to seem like I like her too much. What if she rejects me?"

His mother laughed. "Oh, Finn. That's not even a problem. The girl's crazy about you."

Finn shot her a skeptical look.

"Always trust women about this stuff, Finn." His mother winked.

That night, Finn arranged the teddy bear and chocolates neatly in front of his door, so he wouldn't forget. He also placed a book of poems called "Rapture" by a woman named Carol Ann Duffy his mother had given her when he'd complained about writing a card. He was skeptical about the last, but his mother had forced him to take it. Maybe he and Amanda could laugh at the silly title? He hoped there wasn't anything too suggesting on the poems. What if she rejected him and then read the suggestive poems? Oh, God.

_Freaking Valentine's Day_.

* * *

**Totally just added Rapture because of Matt Smith's Comic-Con twitter advice. Oops.**


	17. Valentine's Day

**A/N: Hello! Thanks for reading and reviewing, I hope you have a lovely Valentine's!**

**Neon Clouds: Oh, don't worry, I'm also the oblivious-kind. I meant the Philby-and-Willa-like-each-other-and-everyone-knows-but-them book situation. I should've been more specific, lol.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ANY of this characters! (Surprising, right?)**

* * *

THAT DAY

Finn found himself lost in a mess of red, pink, and white shirts once inside the cafeteria. Getting to his lunch table in itself wasn't hard, even with half the school acting weird, but knowing what he was about to do made it the hardest walk to their lunch table he'd ever taken.

He wasn't going to give her the gifts right there, due to everyone watching and the noise, but he was going to ask her out. Okay, so he wasn't going to actually a_sk her out. _And the place Finn had in mind was the Frozen Marble, their usual hangout, so it wasn't like it was anything out of the ordinary.

But his hopes were that by the end of the day, everything would be out of the ordinary.

Getting to their table, he tried to greet Amanda casually. She wasn't dressed up, and she didn't make an effort to wear Valentine's Day colors, like most of the other girls. To Finn, however, she looked extra pretty, and as a result, extra intimidating.

"Hey," he said, grinning.

Amanda looked up at him and smiled. "Hi, Finn."

_Hi, Finn. Hi, Finn. Shoot. His turn to talk. Shootshootshootshoot._

"So, Amanda," Finn forced himself to blurt it out, so he couldn't back down. "What are you doing after school?"

They'd hung out thousands of times after school before, Finn reminded himself. He didn't have to feel awkward. This was normal behavior. Why was he feeling awkward?

"Probably going to Nash's and hear all the girls complain about being alone during Valentine's," Amanda rolled her eyes. "I mean, it's not even a _real _holiday. It's just another excuse to make people buy stuff. The effect it has on people is pathetic. Just look around!"

Finn followed Amanda's eyes to a nearby table where a pair of teenagers were acting awkward and blushy as one of them gave the other a teddy bear. Next to their table, a girl was holding a dozen roses while a friend looked at her with jealousy. And next to _that _table was a (new) couple making out like there was no tomorrow.

Finn got it. Valentine's was a weird day where people did things they normally wouldn't. Still, he felt a bit disappointed. He'd thought, for a moment there, that maybe today would be the day.

Finn forced himself to get back on the conversation and laugh. "Yeah, I know. It's all weird. Do you want to hang out? You know, just so you don't have to be miserable at Mrs. Nash's and all. We could maybe get some ice-cream-to-go at the Frozen Marble and just walk and talk for a bit. My parents are going to dinner so it's not like they'll miss me. Do you want to? Not as a date or anything, because, you know, it's also Friendship day and we're friends, right? And-"

"Yeah, sounds good." Amanda was evidently trying not to laugh. He kicked himself in his mind. Rambling. Real smooth, Whitman. "I'll tell Jess to come, so she doesn't have to be with the girls by herself."

"No!" Finn almost shouted. Amanda raised an eyebrow. "No, I thought we could just celebrate ourselves. Just, you know, you and me. Ourselves."

Amanda looked at him for a moment, a smile slowly appearing on her face. "Yeah. Yeah, okay." She nodded, giving him a look that gave Finn hope.

A few hours later, once their ice creams were done and they were tired from walking, Finn and Amanda sat on the swings of a local playground, giggling and teasing like they always did. It was a wonder, how being with her worked. At the start, he'd feel awkward and self-conscious, but by the end, the conversation would be easy and he'd feel comfortable. Almost at home.

Suddenly, Finn remembered he still had the gifts for Amanda inside his backpack. He gulped. Should he take the chance and potentially ruin a perfect afternoon, or leave things as they were?

"Okay, I know you think Valentine's is stupid and all," he started, his confident tone surprising himself. "But I still went and got you chocolate." He considered this the least romantic of the options. Chocolate couldn't ruin a night, could it?

Amanda tried not to look too excited. "Hmm.. what kind of chocolate?"

"Sixty-two percent dark chocolate."

Amanda brought a hand to her mouth and her eyes popped up with excitement. "You're the best! Gosh, you're the best!"

"Wow, so much for a stupid holiday." Finn laughed.

"Shut up! Gimme."

"I don't know. Are you going to stroke it and mutter 'my precious' repeatedly?"

"Finn!"

Finn gave her the bar, and Amanda opened it, breaking it in half and giving him one of the two parts to him.

"No, it's all yours." Finn told her, rejecting the delicious-smelling chocolate.

"We're celebrating both of us, right? You and me. Half and half."

Finn couldn't argue with that.

They finished the chocolate and started to walk home, their silence peaceful as they both took in the whole day. The day hadn't gone exactly as Finn had expected it, but it'd still been the best ordinary day they'd shared. The book of poems and teddy bear could wait.

And, besides, Amanda had taken his hand halfway through the walk.

Yeah, they were definitely half and half.


	18. Disney Ghost

**A/N: Thanks for reading/reviewing! You're awesome. **

**Now, this one's a little different. I've tried to not take them to WDW because of DHI complications, but I've been recently obsessed with Disney World/Disneyland ghost stories and I just had to take them to meet George! If you really don't like all that paranormal stuff or just think the Disney ghost stories are annoyingly silly, just skip this chapter. Also, this topic almost always causes debates (researching Disney ghosts has taught me that some forums get angry quickly lol) so let's just say that in the KK universe, ghosts are real. **

**If you don't know who George is, don't google yet, I'll add the back story to the chapter. Of course, google it later. It's very interesting, even if you don't believe in it. I recommend you google "Dark Disney Goodnight, George" and click the first link. Also, if you haven't ridden pirates and are confused by my writing, Youtube helps!**

**Disclaimer: Look at the last 17 chapters.**

* * *

"Wait, you've never heard of the ghost in Pirates of the Caribbean?" Finn said, trying to get Amanda scared.

They were hanging out Saturday morning, both a bit bored and trying to find something to do.

Amanda looked amused. "The ghost in _Pirates of the Caribbean? _The _ride_?"

"Yes, the ride. A cast member told us the story when we had the DHI Parade, you know which one, when you returned and Maleficent escaped from the castle." Amanda nodded. "Well, I remembered it last night and made a thorough, four-hour-long research on the Internet, and it is a hundred percent true."

"Ghosts aren't real." Amanda said, trying not to laugh. "Anyway, the Internet lies."

"I read it in cast member blogs!" Finn said, like this proved it all. "Besides, you're a Fairlie who fights Disney Villains. You can't just say ghosts aren't real."

"I believe until I see." Amanda stated. "Or hear, or feel. Not because I read it in some blog."

"Let's go, then." Finn said, standing up.

"Go where? The park?" Amanda said, feeling too lazy to travel all the way to Disney just for some stupid story.

"Unless you're too scared." Finn grinned.

Amanda glared at him. "Okay, let's go."

On the way to the park, Finn started telling Amanda the story of George. He'd been working on the ride back before it hadn't opened, and had somehow died. Some stories had him dying while falling from a tower, others when a light beam fell on top of him, etc. There weren't any real records that someone named George had died there, but there were a thousand stories about the ghost doing mischief. The cast members who worked there had to say goodnight to George, otherwise the ride wouldn't operate correctly the next day. Many who worked there remembered people getting blamed at for the ride breaking if they didn't say goodnight to the resident ghost.

Guests often reported seeing someone staring down at them from the bridge of the pirate with the hairy leg hanging down. Feeling uneasy and suddenly cold at that spot usually meant having encountered him. People who mocked George while riding usually had the right stopped, often in front of the fire scene, the bridge, and just about to exit the ride. Some even claimed to had seen him, had felt them pat their shoulders, and such.

By the end of the story, Amanda's mind hadn't changed. Rides stopped all the time, and it's easy to imagine seeing someone during dark rides.

Outside of the ride, Finn and Amanda were surprised to see that the line was almost empty. They walked quickly to the loading area, bickering about George.

A cast member got them to their boat, and told them how lucky they were to have it to themselves.

"Are you sure you won't be too scared about George?" Finn asked Amanda.

"Oh, let's just end this thing."

As they went on their way, Finn saw the cast member glancing at them and muttering about the ride breaking.

"Hello, George." Finn said brightly.

Amanda sighed.

"What? I'm being polite!"

"George isn't real!" Amanda said.

"You're being rude. How would you like George saying Fairlies aren't real?"

They rode in silence, and Finn could tell Amanda was a bit unnerved. They were in the battleship scene and a cannonball fell near Amanda. She got soaked.

"What!" She exclaimed, groaning.

Finn laughed. "Told you."

"This proves _nothing!_" Amanda said. "At least I didn't wear a white shirt." She muttered.

Once in the fire scene, the ride started feeling unbelievably cold.

"Overtakers?" Amanda asked, who's wetness made her feel colder.

Finn was wondering the same thing, but just replied. "Nah, just George."

The last straw was when they stopped just beneath the hairy leg.

At first it had been funny for Finn. But after ten minutes passed, they both started getting incredibly creeped out.

"Just say sorry to him." Finn said, trying not to look scared.

"I won't say sorry to nothing!" Amanda said, her pride owning her fear.

The minutes ticked, and soon they had been there for fifteen long, cold minutes.

"Amanda..."

"Sorry." Amanda mumbled.

Finn shot her a look.

"Okay, okay," she said to Finn. Then she started shouting to the air.

"I'm sorry George, I do believe in you!"

At first nothing happened, but then the ride began to move.

Both their eyes widened.

They both said good-night to him as they left, and they were the laugh of the Keepers when they told them their story. One thing was true, though, nothing was really impossible at Disney World.


	19. First Impressions

**A/N: SO I GOT MY LAPTOP FIXED. That's why I'm late. Well, that and a couple of projects. Also, I've got some news. I won't have Internet for the weeks for Dark Passage, so I'm going to be updating twice in three days sometimes. Also, as you may probably know, I'm getting less creative with this. So if you've got some ideas, be sure to tell me. Thanks :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

"What was your first impression of me?" Amanda asked Finn out of the blue one Monday.

Finn shot her a curious look.

"C'mon, tell me." Amanda said, poking his shoulder.

"Why?" Finn asked.

"Because first impressions are always funny." She said, matter-of-factly.

"What was your first impression of me, then?" Finn asked her.

Amanda bit her lip.

"Well, before talking to you I thought you were this weird, scrawny kid I doubted could help me save my sister." Amanda scrunched her nose, embarrassed. "But then I met you."

"And what did you think after you met me?"

"I knew for sure that you were a weird scrawny kid who couldn't help me save my sister." She said, in that wide-eyed, biting-lip, face she used to tease him.

Finn rolled his eyes, making her laugh.

"I thought you were funny. Kind of cute, actually." She told him, tilting her head. "And your first impression of me was..?"

"I don't know.." He squinted, as if trying to remember. "I thought you were interesting. Different."

"Before, or after you met me?"

"Both."

Amanda nodded, as if she approved of his answer. "Don't you think it's weird, sometimes, how Jess and I were always connected to this whole Overtaker-situation? How Jess somehow dreamt of it?"

"Yeah," Finn said. "Guess it just had to happen."

They both looked at each other and nodded, both thinking that maybe _they_ had to happen, too.


	20. Nyan Cat

**A/N: Hello! So, I'm suffering from MAJOR writer's block. Hopefully, my re-read of KK (DARK PASSAGE IS NEAR) will give me some inspiration, but until then, you'll have to suffer through memories such as this one. Of course, you're invited to just leave a word in my ask and I'll create a story from that! **

**Thanks for reading and reviewing. You're jdfishfiaus awesome. And you won't kill me if I totally misspelled Louwski's name. Right?**

**Also, sorry if anyone likes Twilight. Not personally offending you, the books just make me angry.**

**Disclaimer: Even though just like Ridley Pearson I take my time with updating stories, I am actually not him. **

* * *

"So," Amanda said, sitting down next to him on their lunch table. "I heard Greg Louwski was trying to provoke you earlier today."

Finn groaned. He didn't like to use the word hate when it came to people, but Louwski made it too hard for him not to.

"The only thing more annoying than that guy is the Nyan Cat." Finn stated, referring to the old Internet meme.

Amanda shot him a curious look. "'Nyan Cat'?"

Finn dropped his fork. "Wait, you don't know what's the Nyan Cat?"

"Uh, nope." Amanda said.

Finn stared at her for a second, and then smiled.

"What?" Amanda asked, self-conscious.

"_I dare you," _Finn said. "To watch the Nyan Cat for ten hours straight."_  
_

"There's a ten-hour-long video of something called _Nyan Cat_?" Amanda said. "What is _wrong _people?"

"So you'll do it?"

"Why should I?"

"Because it's humiliating for you to not know what the Nyan Cat is." Finn explained.

"Okay," Amanda said nodding. "I'll do it. If you do it alongside me. Next Saturday, first to look away loses."

"What happens to the loser?" Finn asked, liking the idea of a competition.

"Depends. When you lose, for example, you'll have to go sign autographs at Nash's house."

Finn smirked. That wasn't so bad.

"With Jeannie present." Amanda added, laughing when Finn's smirk automatically fell down.

"Fine." Finn said, joining his hands. "But when you lose, you'll have to watch all the Twilight movies in one night."

Amanda pursed her lips and slowly nodded.

* * *

**HOUR ONE **

Saturday morning, just at 11 AM, Finn clicked play to the video titled _**Nyan Cat 10 hours (original)** _and sat down next to Amanda.

Just as the music started Amanda muttered, "What the..."

Finn laughed.

"Is that cat supposed to be a poptart cat?" She asked him, confusion and amusement on her face.

"What else did you expect?" Finn answered.

* * *

**HOUR TWO**

"I thought this would be harder." Amanda said.

Finn glared at her. "Are you kidding me? This is worse than the 'It's a Small World' song."

Amanda started humming said song.

* * *

**HOUR THREE**

"Shoot." Amanda said. "I need to pee."

Finn snorted. "Oh, don't worry, just seven hours to go."

"You're _the_ worst."

Finn pretended to blow her a kiss.

* * *

**HOUR FOUR**

"Nyan, nyan, nyan, nyan, nyan, nyan, nyaan." Amanda started singing.

"Nyan, nyan, nyan, nyan, nyan, nyan, nyan, nyan." Finn continued.

Soon, they were both Nyaning their way through.

Amanda started moving her arms in different directions with each 'nyan', and Finn started bobbing his head in the same pattern. "Nyan, nyan, nyan, nyan, nyan!" They both sang, laughing.

Mr. Whitman, passing from his bedroom to the stairs, happened to glance in for a second. He did a double-take. He continued his way muttering something about teenagers being hormonally unbalanced.

* * *

**HOUR FIVE**

This was the hour. One of them had to lose. They were trying to make each other get up from the chair, but neither was budging. They were in it to win it.

Finn's stomach grumbled and he saw Amanda smiled. She knew about his soft spot for food.

"Aww, is someone a bit nyany hungry?" Amanda said, putting a hand on her heart.

"Why, does someone have to use the restroom?" Finn shot back.

They stood there glaring at each other, daring the other to get up. It reminded Finn of a cowboy duel.

Green eyes staring at blue eyes, green eyes waiting the blue eyes to move.

They weren't moving.

"Okay," Amanda said, slowly. "How about this: we both get up at the count of three, and no one loses."

Finn nodded. "On your count."  
"One.. two.."

They both examined each other closely.

"Three!"

Neither moved, both sighed.

"Nice try," Finn said, with a mocking tone of impression.

"Same to you," Amanda answered, smiling sweetly.

Finn's stomach grumbled again.

Amanda clenched her fist.

They both looked at each other for a moment and got up.

"HA!" Finn said. "You lost! You got up first!"

"No I didn't!" Amanda scoffed. "You did!"

* * *

**TENTH HOUR**

The sudden lack of 'nyans' in the air stopped their bickering.

They both stared at each other and burst out laughing.


	21. Would you rather

**A/N: Hey, thanks for taking the time to read/review. It means a lot.**

**Also I'm re-reading Disney at Dawn and THEY'RE THE CUTEST THING EVER. **

**(Plus, I'm going to remind you all that the first book states Amanda's a vegetarian. I swear I'm not making stuff up lol)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

Finn woke up in the middle of Tomorrowland, knowing he was at least fifteen minutes earlier than the time the team had stated.

He closed his eyes and opened them again, only to find Amanda looking down at him sighing with relief.

"Thank goodness you're early, too. I've been here for twenty minutes with nothing to do." She complained, holding his hand to help him up. "This land has to be the creepiest, by the way. I keep expecting an alien to come out from nowhere."

"What? Are you scared of Stitch the menacing fuzzball?" He teased, now standing up.

"Hey, you're the one who was running away from him a couple of months ago." Amanda reminded him.

They stood there in silence for a minute, both keeping watch for Overtakers.

"Hey, Amanda," Finn said, trying to do something fun. "Would you rather ride It's A Small World twenty times in a row or eat meat?"

Amanda raised an eyebrow. "Would you rather? Really, Finn?"

"Hey, you're the one who was complaining about having nothing to do." He defended himself.

Amanda sighed. "It's A Small World twenty times in a row."

"Really? What do you have against meat?"

"Do you _really _want me to start ranting now?" She asked, smiling.

"Yeah, you're right, ignore that." He nodded.

"Okay.. would you rather go on a date with Jeannie or ride Hulk over at Universal's Island of Adventures?"

Finn considered it for a minute. "Go on a date with Jeannie."

Amanda laughed. "You're such a chicken!"

"Shut up," Finn muttered. "Would you rather go on a date with Philby or Maybeck?"

"What?!" Amanda expressed, laughing.

"You heard me."

"Um, I guess I'd go with.. Philby?" Amanda answered, a bit weirded out.

"What, nerd over lady's man?"

"That's mean!" Amanda punched his shoulder lightly. "Besides, Philby has an accent! And Jess went on that date with Maybeck when she was Jez-with-a-z, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, I remember that." Finn said.

"Although _you _had an eye for Jez-with-a-z, as well." Amanda accused him.

"I didn't." Finn said, "Besides, you were just jealous."

"I was not _jealous,_" Amanda said, holding a finger out. "I was worried. You were making googley eyes at my captive, temporarily evil sister."

"Excuses, excuses.." Finn said, grinning.

"Oh, shut it."

They laughed, and by the time they had stopped Willa had arrived.

* * *

**Geekykiki: Okay, your penname is awesome. Also, thanks!**

**NeonClouds: Oh, I didn't know it was named Nyan Cat until a friend informed me, so don't admit that shamefully lol. And, also, thank you!**


	22. Chips&Ketchup

**A/N: Hello people of the world! This one was AmandaKK1524's idea, so go thank her for her awesome mind!**

**Disclaimer: If I were Ridley Pearson I would't have such a huge crush on Philby (high five, NeonClouds!)**

* * *

Finn was wearing an apron and a chef hat made from paper towels, surprisingly not feeling as silly as he looked. Amanda was watching him from his kitchen counter, muffling her giggles with her hand.

Everything that girl could make him do with just a few words was kind of scary.

They'd been sitting on his couch just a couple of minutes ago, when she'd defied his cooking skills. He'd scoffed-no one insulted his chips with ketchup.

"I still can't believe you're one of those 'ketchup-with-everything' people." Amanda said, now at the kitchen, wrinkling her nose as if the thought of it was disgusting.

"Once you try my chips with ketchup, that face of yours will shut up." Finn told her while he opened a bag of original-flavored chips.

Amanda bit her lip and smiled. "_You_ should be the one called fairly human, weirdo."

"Maybe I _am _a Fairlie, and my power is to cook the best chips with ketchup." He teased, his eyes as wide as he could open them.

Amanda gasped. "_Maybe,"_ she said. "But I doubt mixing some chips with some ketchup counts as real cooking."

"You just wait," Finn winked at her.

She shook her head, sighing.

He mixed the ketchup and the chips, and then later added a bit of lemon (_not_ lime!), a bit of garlic, and his super-secret mixture, which had been already ready in the fridge. Afterwards, he crushed the chips, but didn't crush them _too _much, mixed the bowl again, and, finally, took two spoons from the drawer and set the bowl on top of the kitchen counter.

Amanda smelled the chips. "What's in there?"

"It's a secret," Finn whispered, sitting next to her. "Now, take a spoonful."

"Do I have to?"

Finn sighed. "C'mon, it's not like I'm going to poison you."

Amanda snorted. "Just put me in a spell."

"Eat it."

Amanda took her spoon, dipped it in, and took it out. Making a big deal of taking a deep breath, she took the spoon to her mouth and, for a second, her face was expressionless. Then, she looked at Finn with wide eyes.

"No freaking way!" She squealed, taking another spoonful. She moaned with delight.

Finn smiled smugly.

"Your future wife is going to be _so _lucky!"

"Told you," Finn said, his spoon joining hers at the bowl.

"How is it that the more I know you, the more often you amaze me?" Amanda asked him, her voice so honest and serious, nothing like the tone she'd been using a few moments before.

His eyes met hers, and the way she was looking at him- God, it was enough for a goofy grin to escape to the surface.

"Likewise."

* * *

**I hope this was along the lines you imagined, ****AmandaKK1524. Heh.**


	23. Goons (fail chapter)

**A/N: Ahahaa... I hate myself. So I've been kind of.. scared of writing. Not exactly writer's block, but more like a fear of writing something really, really bad. It kind of started when I realized I had almost a hundred reviews. So thanks for that, and sorry for not updating.** **I'm forcing myself to write this, and I'll try to update every day. You're free to PM me that I'm late if I'm late. **

**So GeekyKiki said she'd like to see one of them fighting, so that's where this will go! Note: I know nothing about the New Fantasyland Construction but this is fiction so mwahahahahahaha**

**Disclaimer: If I were Ridley Pearson I'd be rereading Dark Passage and stroking my awesome beard.**

* * *

Finn and Amanda stood in front of one of the Dream Builders sign, just outside the New Fantasyland construction. They were doing a check-up, and decided to snoop around the construction to see if the Overtakers had a sort of headquarters over there, outside from the public's eyes.

"Do we jump the wall?" Finn asked Amanda, trying to calculate how much they'd have to jump to get to the other side.

"It's too tall." Amanda pursed her lips. "Have you ever wanted to be levitated?"

"Seriously? Won't it drain you?"

"Meh, you're a long streak of nothing. Practically paper-thin."

Finn felt a bit insulted, but decided to shake it off. "Paperman. That'd be a cool superhero name."

"Your super-power could be preparing chips with ketchup." Amanda said, smiling.

"What'd be _your _superhero name?" Finn asked, starting to lean on the wall. However, Amanda started levitating him before he could finish his movement.

"Amanda Lockhart." She said, and Finn could see her grin as he went over the wall.

As soon as he hit the ground, he felt a hand cover his mouth and he knew he was in trouble.

Amanda was luckier than him- as soon as she started coming over the wall she saw them.

They were grotesque creatures that looked like the child of pigs and frogs, with rotten-green skin and an average of short statures. Finn had been wondering when he'd see Maleficent's dim-witted but fully evil goons.

"Oh, shoot!" Amanda gasped, literally standing on top of the temporal wall.

The goons tried to reach her, and Amanda sent him panicked looks. She was relatively safe, yes, but what could she do about him?

He tried going all-clear but the hand touching his mouth was too gross, and the now-squealing short goons didn't help, either.

Finn signaled the greenish hand covering his mouth with his eyes and she showed him his teeth.

Finn glared at her. Oldest trick in the book? Really?

She nodded.

Finn took breathed deeply (which wasn't good for his smelling sense) and bit the creature. The sound of a dying rat was heard as the creature removed its hand from Finn.

Meanwhile, Amanda pushed the goons trying to reach for her towards the ground. Finn reached for her hand and she levitated him.

They jumped to the ground before the goons came close.

"That was.. weird." Amanda said, between breaths.

"Grotesque is more like it."

"We go tell the others there's guards over here?"

Finn nodded. "We do."

* * *

**...shut up at least I updated**

**DARK PASSAGE IS NEAR**


	24. hand holding

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing/reading! (100+?! WOAH MAN) This one's inspired by cute little Finny and his mention of "hand ****holding" in book three.**

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.**

* * *

They were with the others at the Frozen Marble, and Finn started eyeing Amanda's hand. It was resting on the table, all alone, almost as if it were waiting for his own to find it. He didn't know why, but he felt like he had to grab her hand. Like he couldn't keep that hand waiting.

Subconsciously, he started wiping his hands with his jeans while Maybeck told a joke.

Finn kept his eyes on her hand as he laughed.

His hand went to rest at the table, close to hers.

Finn moved his gaze to a neutral place, to Philby and Willa talking.

His hand reached for her hand and, putting the best poker face Finn had, he laced his fingers with hers.

Finn reminded himself to breathe normally, which led to an oh-shoot-how-do-I-normally-breathe internal-crisis.

He felt Amanda look at him curiously.

He looked at her and smiled.

She put up an eyebrow.

"Do you mind?" He whispered, hoping the others didn't catch the interaction between them. They did.

Amanda laughed, shaking her head 'no'.

Finn laughed, too.


	25. Notes

**A/N: HEY! Thanks for reading/reviewing! Tomorrow I'll do the Thrift Shop one, so you've got a ~kinda different chapter here.**

**DARK PASSAGE IS NEAR. **

**disclaimer: this is the 25th chapter. look at the other 24 disclaimers.**

* * *

Hey, Amanda. 

_Finn, you should really pay attention in this class. It's really not your best subject, and I'm 100% sure passing notes won't help._

But World Civ is the worst! 

_It's actually pretty __interesting if you pay attention. Plus, who passes notes nowadays? Everyone texts._

Meh, too mainstream. So, what's up?

_Oh, nothing. Just trying to pay attention while an__** annoying**__ guy distracts me.._

Hey, you're responding to these notes. You can't resist ~The Whitman~.

_Oh my gosh, don't ever refer to yourself as '~The Whitman~' ever again._

Too sexy?

_FINN. Can you please just let me pay attention?_

You didn't answer my question.

Oh, so you're ignoring me now, huh?

Really, Amanda? Really? 

You're going to answer one of these soon.

Very.

Soon.

_Finn, stop it! I'm really trying to pay attention._

Told ya you'd answer. Oh, wait Mr. Mickelson is looking my-

* * *

**dark passage is NEAR**


	26. Thrift Shop

**A/N: Hello! Thanks again for reviewing and reading. **

**So you requested Thrift Shop.. and I haven't watched it. So I'm going to watch it and write at the same time. lolz**

**Disclaimer: i don't have an awesome beard therefore i own nothing. not even thrift shop.**

* * *

"Hey, click on that one." Amanda said, pointing to a video called 'Thrift Shop', sitting next to Finn on his living room sofa.

Finn clicked the video.

As the song started, Finn shot her a weird look. "What the heck am I watching?"

"Shh, I heard it's funny."

The video continued.

"Is that the car from Back to the Future? And who is this guy with the cheetah fur?"

"Finn, shh!"

Amanda started giggling as the guy with the cheetah fur started rapping. Finn didn't see what was so funny.

"Pfftt!" Amanda snorted when the "sheets" line passed.

"Really, what's so great about this?"

"Shut up! This is getting funnier."

"Actually, it's kinda offensive."

Amanda didn't hear him, though. She was loving the video, singing along with it, even. "I'm gonna pop some tags.."

Finn stared at the screen, asking himself what kind of world he lived in.

"He's wearing a batman onesie!"

"I can see that." Finn grumbled.

Amanda was red-faced from laughter by the time the song ended.

"That was the worst video ever." Finn said.

"You loved it! It was awesome."

"I haven't heard lyrics as stupid as that. Ever."

Amanda bit her lip. "I'm going to get it stuck in your head."

Finn made a face. "Please don't.."

"I will, though." Amanda winked, and started singing.

* * *

Two hours later, Finn found himself humming to the song.

_Shoot._


	27. Connection

**A/N: HELLOO MY LOVES! As you can imagine, I'm in a good mood today. In part thanks to your AWESOME reviews and your ACTUALLY TAKING YOUR TIME TO READ THESE DRABBLES. Seriously. Thank you** :).. **also thanks for reading my upper cases and not hating me.**

**This memory doesn't have dialogue, so you've been warned, people who get bored when there's no dialogue.**

**AmandaKK1524: Aww, thanks. But Thrift Shop was Miranda's (anonymous) idea, so she's the original one heh.**

**Dislclaimer: I am so lazy, I won't even correct that typo. By the way, I own absolutely nothing.**

* * *

Finn noticed one thing about Amanda and him pretty early on: there was definitely some sort of connection between them. Not exactly love, not exactly a kindred-souls kinda thing, but a connection still.

Lying on his bed, suffering from a night of one of the DHI's rare but awful side effects, insomnia, his thoughts went over to that connection. Normally, it wasn't something he let himself think about, since it was too cheesy and weird. But when it's 4 AM and you're so tired and awake at the same time, having four toes isn't considered weird to think about.

Finn thought of the first time he'd seen her around school, back when he was thirteen. They had the same period gym class, and the first time he'd seen her he'd sensed something different about her. Something almost scary. Amanda hadn't even been looking at him, but he somehow felt like she sensed it, too. After that, the connection became more clear. Finn could be kicking a soccer ball, and from the corner of his eye see a red shirt, and know it was hers. At the time, he didn't give it much thought. But recalling it now, it seemed.. _fairly_ normal.

Once they'd become closer friends, the connection grew with them. Finn would turn to look at the door at the same time Amanda would be walking in. They'd do the same movements, like they were in synch.

And they would always, always catch each other's eyes. As cheesy as it sounded, it was true.

_Sure_, he thought to himself, _90% of the time it happens because you're staring at her. But still._

Finn tried not to be embarrassed about the fact that Amanda caught him staring at her that much. Sometimes, he could tell she knew he was staring by the way she'd tense up and her breathing would become faster. Those times, Finn silently thanked Amanda for not turning and making it official that he was very bad at subtly staring at her.

Finn felt sleep quickly drowning him.

A connection..

It was such a naïve thing to think.

Did it have to do with their mission? Or themselves?

The last question Finn asked himself before falling asleep that night was, "Is it even real?"

* * *

**Hey, guess what?**

**DARK PASSAGE IS NEAR**


	28. Thing

**A/N: So my brain is not functioning properly thanks to the latest Lizzie Bennet Diaries (IT'S DIZZIEDAY/DARCYDAY2 PEOPLE) webisode, but I'll do my best. Thanks for reading, reviewing, and putting up with my longish A/Ns.**

**This one's right after Power Play. **

**GeekyKiki: Mine lol. **

**Disclaimer: I won nothing. (ANOTHER TYPO IN THE DISCLAIMER?! Gee.) I own nothing.. but I can still tell you that DARK PASSAGE IS LIKE REALLY TOTALLY NEAR.**

* * *

Lunch time.

Normally, Finn liked lunch. Amanda, food, a break from boring school topics.. yeah, it was alright.

That particular day, though, Finn was feeling a mix of excitement and dread as the bell announced that it was time for him to go to the cafeteria.

He walked slowly, his mind going through a thousand different scenarios of how that day might happen.

They all disappeared from his mind the moment Finn saw Amanda eating lunch, sitting at their table. Only one thing came to his mind: their kissing in Tom Sawyer's Island.

It had been unexpected. Good, but still unexpected. He wasn't ready to talk to Amanda about that today. Sure, she had initiated it. But it could've been a well-you're-going-to-die-so-might-as-well-do-this Thing. A Thing that didn't last for more than a fuzzy, scary night. The type of thing that could maybe, for lack of a better phrase, break his heart.

As Finn got closer to the table, Amanda looked at him and waved. She seemed normal. Normal, friendly wave. Normal, friendly smile. A smile from the same mouth that could ruin their friendship in a nanosecond. Cool.

_Thanks, Universe. Glad to know you think being chased by Disney Villains isn't enough torture for a guy. _

"Hey," Finn said, sliding on and forcing a smile.

Amanda just _looked _at him, and Finn felt a sprung of hope that maybe the Thing was the type of thing that could ruin their friendship in a very good way. His insecurities destroyed the little hope in no time, though.

"What's up?" Said Amanda, snapping out of it.

_What's up? Well._

"Not much. How about you?"

"Meh, life being boring and stuff. Apart from, you know, almost dying last week." Amanda's little laugh sounded forced. He didn't blame her.

"Yeah. Yeah, that night was _interesting._" Finn looked at her with intensity when he said the last word.

Amanda's poker face didn't bulge. "Yup. Hey, did you hear about Mrs. Kelian?"

Finn didn't understand this. She was just.. neglecting the Thing.

Or maybe it wasn't even important enough to be an upper-case-T Thing.

"No, what happened?"

Amanda started gushing about the school gossip, and Finn pretended to hear what she was saying. Inside, his mind was buzzing.

A part of him felt relieved.

Another part of him felt disappointed.

He didn't like knowing he could've said something himself.


	29. Jess

**A/N: So I didn't update for a bit. You know when life just makes you feel so, so tired? I'm right there right now. but DARK PASSAGE IS NEAR. So that's a yay. And the fact that you read/review is another yay.**

**MidnightBoredom: That review might or might not have made me do a happy dance of gratefulness.**

**Also I started re-reading some of the past memories and OH MY GOSH, I have the worst grammar ever. Please remind me to not write just before going to sleep ever again. Also, thanks for coping with my second-language problems.**

**Disclaimer: please I'm too tired just look at Memory 13's disclaimer.**

* * *

Sometimes, Finn didn't know if he wanted to kill or hug Jessica Lockhart.

Finn would be hanging out with Amanda and Jess, and she'd start to chip in vague comments about Finn and Amanda. And with "vague" he meant completely obvious comments. He hated when she did that, but he also liked it because it gave him hope that maybe Amanda had said something to her about liking him.

One Saturday, for example, after all the Keepers had left the Frozen Marble except Finn and the Fairlies, Jess put them in an incredibly awkward and ridiculous situation.

"So, you guys haven't been on a date for weeks!" Jess had said. It hadn't been that bad a comment, but it'd been enough for the show to start.

"They're not dates," Finn and Amanda said at the same time.

"Oh!" Jess played dumb. "Oh, I get it. Rob and I didn't call them 'dates' when we were together, either."

Finn could see Amanda glaring at her sister from the corner of his eye.

"We're not together." Finn mumbled.

"Why?" Jess asked, tilting her head in so-called confusion.

Finn's cheeks flushed.

"Jess!" Amanda half-whispered, although Finn didn't understand why. He could obviously hear her.

"We're just friends." Finn said, trying very hard to keep an unaffected face on.

"Oh, I just thought, by the way you stare at each other, and all the flirting.." Jess laughed. "Never mind. It's just me being dumb."

"_Playing _dumb." Amanda said under her breath. Then she spoke up. "It's _not _flirting."

"Yeah, well. We're best friends. We're just.." Finn looked at Amanda.

"Friends." Amanda finished for him. "Friends don't date."

Jess pfft-ed and got up. "C'mon, say good-bye to your dear _friend. _It's getting late."

Amanda got up and rolled her eyes. She mouthed 'sorry' to Finn and he nodded sympathetically, like he understood, but he was distracted by Jess signaling Amanda and winking at him.

Fairlies.

* * *

**_DARK PASSAGE IS NEAR._**

**_SCARY-NEAR._**


	30. Musical Talent

**A/N: WOAH HOW DID WE GET TO THE 3OTH CHAPTER ALREADY. Dark Passage is NEAR, man! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for reading/reviewing. Days have been made thanks to you :)**

**MidnightBoredom: Okay, totally did a second happy dance of gratefulness. And squealed. NICENESS. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOOUUU.**

**Also, IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: ****Next memory, #31, will be on time. ****However, #32 will be posted sometime between the 27th and the 2nd of April.**

**And the last chapter, the epilogue, will be posted on April 2nd. FuTuRe-AniMaToR had a kind of idea of how to end this, and I'd had a similar idea, so I'll post it before KKVI changes everything as a kind of AUish epilogue. Yay. **

**Disclaimer: Disney Hyperion/Ridley Pearson own this.**

* * *

"How come," Amanda started, resting her chin on her hand. "I have never heard you play the trumpet?"

"How come," Finn imitated her. "You know I play the trumpet?"

"A certain red-haired nerd might've slipped it." Amanda said casually.

"The same certain red-haired you chose over Maybeck?" Finn teased, trying to get away from the trumpet question.

Amanda laughed. "Get over that! Really, why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Because it's.. _geeky." _Finn made a face.

"Finn, you're geeky with or without the trumpet playing. Besides, I think it's cool. It explains your strong cheeks."

"Strong cheeks?" Finn repeated.

"They're nice." Amanda nodded. "But stop moving away from the first question. I want to hear you play."

Finn groaned, although the cheek-comment had made the situation a bit better.

"I'm not good, though._ At all_."

"Do you like playing it?" Amanda asked him.

Finn slowly nodded.

"Then why do you hide it? That's a great thing to do! I wish_ I_ had musical talent!"

"You don't even know I have musical talent." Finn grinned.

"Well, I can _imagine! _When you let me hear you, though, I'll be able to tell for sure."

Seeing that Finn wasn't changing his opinion, she brought her hands together, widened her eyes, and started pleading.

"_Please, please, please _let me hear you! Please!" Amanda gave him an expectant smile.

Finn sighed.

"Okay, maybe some day I'll play for you." Finn rolled his eyes as she fist-bumped the air.

"Is that a promise?"

"It's a promise."

She grinned at him like she'd won an argument.

"DHI Finn Whitman doing a private concert for me. Life could be worse." She teased.

"Supernatural best friend getting me into promises that I'm not a hundred percent sure I want to fulfill. Life could be better."

"Oh, come on." She patted his shoulder. "I have an idea: you'll play for me when you feel comfortable playing for me. But you _will _let me hear you playing someday, okay?"

Finn nodded, smiling. "Okay."


	31. Saturday Nights

**A/N: SECOND-TO-LAST MEMORY. WOAH. Thank you thank you thank you for reading and/or reviewing. I love you.**

**i am a kingdom keeper: LOL thanks, but it's Ridley's pick ;) (Disney in Shadow, around the Test Track Part)**

**GeekyKiki: You know, I'll read DP and see if I can get a good idea for a multichap fic. I wanted to make a Willa/Philby one, too. AND HAPPY SPRING BREAK !**

**AmandaKK1524: YOU are magical, got that?**

**MidnightBoredom: YAAAAY! Can't wait to read your story!**

**Disclaimer: I LOVE YOU AND I DON'T OWN THIS BUT I CAN STILL SAY DARK PASSAGE IS NEAR IN UPPER CASE LETTERS. SO.**

* * *

"Finn, do you ever have those moments when a little thing changes and you realize your perception of life has been wrong the whole time?" Amanda asked him, her eyes staring into space.

"Uh.." Finn stammered for something to say that wouldn't make him look stupid.

Not hearing a response, she smiled shyly, regretting the question. "Sorry, sometimes I just.."

"No, it's okay. I think it's interesting, the way you look at stuff. Life."

Amanda's cheeks flushed.

"You make it sound deeper than it is." She giggled, and Finn was, as always, reminded of bells.

"You know, I thought you were a weird version of Tinker Bell for a while." He blurted out.

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, back when I first met you. Your laugh reminds me of bells, and you always seem to float. I was just getting to know the Disney-after-dark universe, and it just seemed fitting. Easy mistake to make for a newbie." Finn shrugged.

"You thought I was a Disney character?" Amanda was grinning.

"I thought you were a weird version of a Disney character, yes." Finn laughed.

"Weird how?" Amanda asked, just a tad bit offended.

"Well... just _eerie._ Andyou seemed like a girl, not a pixie. So.. weird."

Amanda giggled. "You're the strangest, Whitman."

"Says the girl who can levitate herself."

"You must be _real _strange, then." Amanda answered, without missing a bit.

Back and forth, in and out. Finn loved their conversations, how they were like a dance. A never-ending dance that didn't get boring.

"I love these Saturday nights." Finn yawned, stretching. Just Amanda and him in his living room, lying around. Their words dancing, no danger, no stress. It was his idea of perfect.

"Yeah," Amanda nodded. "They're possibly the best part of the weekends."

"Possibly?"

"Okay," Amanda rolled her eyes. "_The _best part of the weekends."

Finn gave her a boyish grin, his green eyes teasing her blue ones. "Good."

"Great." Amanda bit her lip.

The perfect idea of perfect.


	32. The Fight

**A/N: HEY. SO. LAST MEMORY. I do not recommend that you listen to the Ellie Goulding ft. Erik Hassle cover of 'Be Mine' after reading this. And with "do not" I mean, DO IT. DO IIIIIIIIITTTTT. CRY WITH ME. i love angst oops**

**You might be disappointed by this chapter, alright. But it seemed fitting for it to be the last one. Finn would obviously remember the fight after The Fight, right?**

**I'll post the epilogue on the 2nd if you're interested. I won't say my goodbye until then. Because, you know.. I don't want to be sad now.**

**THANKS FOR READING AND REVIEWING. DARK PASSAGE IS NEAR.**

**amandakk1524: thank you! But be careful with the search option because I spoiled myself the worst of the worst!**

**Disclaimer: hahahaha of course I don't own this. Ridley Pearson, the best of the best, does. And Disney Hyperion.**

* * *

Finn stared at Amanda walk away, knowing that this wasn't what was supposed to happen.

Finn was supposed to say goodbye. Amanda was supposed to say she'd miss him. He'd kiss her, maybe. And then he'd go to the cruise, she'd stay at the Foster Home. They'd be physically apart, but not completely apart.

Now they'd be.

It'd been wrong of him to accuse her of helping the OTs. If there was one person he could trust, it was Amanda. Sometimes it felt like she was too good to be true. Maybe that's why he doubted her. Not that the reason justified the action.

Finn had made her cry. He'd made his best friend, the first girl he ever fell in love with, cry. She was the only one who could make him feel better about his mom. The one person who never failed to give him hope. And he'd hurt her.

It wasn't the first time, though. They'd fought before. She'd cried before, too. But he always followed her right after, and she always let him follow. And they'd make up, maybe just with a hug or a smile.

This time Amanda didn't look back. She asked him to leave her, leaving Finn stuck on the sidewalk, watching her walk away. The last image he'd have of her for fifteen days.

Not the image he'd been hoping for.

Finn mentally punched himself. This fight didn't feel like a normal fight. It felt like he'd broken something.

If he didn't know better, he'd say it felt like a break up. But Finn knew he and Amanda had never stepped into their feelings, they had never made an actual move. And it somehow felt like now they never would.

_It's just a fight, _Finn reminded himself. _Just a silly little fight._

Fifteen days could be a lot of time. Maybe time would heal the fight. Maybe he had nothing to worry about.

Finn watched as Amanda got on the bus, hoping she'd forgive him soon.

* * *

**Ugh, Whitman. **


	33. hahahaha an

**a/n: yeah, I know, I hate these too.**

**but I'm not going to update today. I had a case of food poisoning, and now i'm fine but writing on myphone since i'm vacationing(yayay). If you think I make typos normally, youndont wanna kno. How manu typos I'll make on thisnthing hahaha**

**also DARK PASSAGE IS HERE! If you wanna talk about it, PM me! it's all CRAZY. **

**I'll upsate next week, but THABKS FOR THE REVIEWS. THEY MADE ME ALL WARM AND FUZZY INSIDE!**

**dpih**


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